BNSF to spend $US 3.3bn on network in 2018

BNSF Railway published its $US 3.3bn 2018 spending plan on January 31 which comprises $US 2.4bn for track and rolling stock maintenance and $US 900m for new projects.

The maintenance budget includes around 20,900km of track surfacing and/or undercutting work and the replacement of more than 800km of rail and nearly 3 million sleepers.

“Our infrastructure is strong and robust,” says Mr Carl Ice, BNSF’s president and CEO. “Our efforts to normalise our maintenance investment have positioned us to replace the right assets at the right locations at the right time. This allows our maintenance investment to be at similar levels year-to-year.”

About $US 500m of the capital plan is for expansion and efficiency projects. The majority of these projects are focused on key growth areas along BNSF’s southern and northern trans-continental routes connecting Southern California with Chicago and the Pacific Northwest with the Upper Midwest.

BNSF has also allocated $US 100m for Positive Train Control (PTC) as it moves towards meeting the December 31 2018 implementation deadline. “BNSF is the only Class I freight railroad to have completed the installation of PTC on all its federally-mandated subdivisions and is currently running hundreds of trains daily with PTC as it tests revenue service across its mandated territory,” BNSF says.

BNSF also plans to invest $US 300m in the acquisition of freight wagons and other equipment.